Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire | Bill of the Week Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 690 (Schultz) - Criminal Procedure: Indigent Defense CompensationRCRC, in coalition with our county partners, strongly opposes Assembly Bill 690, authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank). This measure would create additional mandates for the provision of indigent defense services, resulting in increased cost pressures to counties statewide estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire | SB 54 RCRC Comments on New Round of CalRecycle Packaging RegulationsOn May 16th, CalRecycle released revised draft regulations implementing Senate Bill 54 (Allen, 2022) related to single use packaging and food service ware. RCRC provided extensive comments on CalRecycle’s previous
Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire State Launches Pilot Effort on Gray Wolf ManagementEarlier this week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced a pilot effort in partnership with federal and local agencies to combat livestock depredations by gray wolves in
Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire | federal issues California Congressmen Introduce Valley Water Protection ActOn June 11, Congressman Adam Gray (D-Merced) introduced the Valley Water Protection Act, which would ensure Central Valley farmers and producers receive reliable water deliveries to support their operations. The Act would amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect impacted farmers from
Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire | federal appointments | federal issues U.S. Senate Confirms Stephen Vaden as Deputy Secretary of AgricultureOn Tuesday June 10, in a 51-44 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Stephen Vaden to serve as Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture. In this role, Mr. Vaden will oversee
Jun 13, 2025
Barbed Wire | Weekly News Clips Weekly News Clips - The Barbed Wire - June 13, 2025RCRC press releases and related news clips about RCRC and our member counties. Please note that a subscription may be required to read some external publications.
Jun 06, 2025
Barbed Wire | grants CalAssist Mortgage Fund Established to Provide Grants to Homeowners Impacted by Recent DisastersOn June 5th, Governor Newsom announced the CalAssist Mortgage Fund, which will be launching on June 12th to provide grants up to $20,000 to homeowners whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable in recent fires, floods, and other disasters. This new disaster mortgage relief program
Jun 06, 2025
Barbed Wire | Bill of the Week Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 1337 (Ward) - Information Practices Act of 1977RCRC, along with a coalition of other public agency stakeholders, strongly opposes Assembly Bill 1337, authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego). This measure would impose significant costs and liability on state and local governments and jeopardize essential service delivery
Jun 06, 2025
Barbed Wire | federal issues Transportation Secretary Releases Report Finding No Viable Path Forward for California High-Speed Rail ProjectOne June 4, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Compliance Review Report, which found that the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)’s high speed rail project is in default of the terms of its federal grant awards. The detailed report
Jun 06, 2025
Barbed Wire | Keeping Up Keeping Up - The Barbed Wire - June 6, 2025 EditionAnnouncements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties. Jonathon Porter, of Tulare, has been appointed to the 24th District Agricultural Association Tulare County Fair Board. Porter has been a Risk Management Consultant...